A dream and a figurine.....an Origin.

In the dark of a night long forgotten to man and beast alike and before written acord and instincts wisdom, lay a dark haired woman in a bed of fur
nestled in a small reed hut.

Primordial thoughts, her mind dreaming, seeing a world only she would be first to see of all those that from her womb would follow. Her belly swollen
with life, her eyes fluttering as her visions of time bending to her curiosity watch eagerly as the child in her womb becomes a man, the man becomes a
father, and finally the father growing old and passing away.

The world of her dreams so distant to her waking mind was now pulling her deeper into the trance of things to be. The life inside her kicking as its
mother more deeply fell into the reality in between worlds.

The little reed hut was then shaking as the winter wind passed over it like a fierce river, dripping bitter cold through the cracks in between the
reeds. The brisk air of night was then flowing over the dark haired womans gentile face.

She turned her body towards the fire beside her and her hand fell lifeless onto the dirt floor. Her hand then slowly opened and released what it was
so tightly gripping when the dark haired woman first laid down that lonely night to find her rest. A little figurine carved from wood with much care
rolled onto the raw floor.

The child inside her kicked almost as if it knew something had gone missing and the woman slowly opened her eyes. She adjusted to the brightness of
the fire glowing before her. The hypnotising flames were radiating a slow but steady wave of heat over her exposed empty hand.

She looked down and saw the figurine on its side before her. The little man carved from wood was quickly snatched up and she brought it close to her
heart.

A tear fell from her face and rolled over her lip and into her mouth. She tasted the bitter and saltiness of it and pressed her mouth and eyes closed.
Holding the figurine to her whisper, she kissed it and placed it dearly beside her little fur bed. Gazing at the little wooden man she slowly fell
back to sleep as the fire slowly blurred the world she was seeing with wave after wave of gentle warmth.

She was returning to her dreams between worlds. Her mind now sinking beyond time to moments her waking mind only remembered in incomplete thoughts and
hazy details.

She saw the branch that bore the figurine cracking under the strength of her husbands strong arms. His hard and scarred hands then delicately shaving
sliver after sliver from the small block of wood. His old and chipped knife carefully dancing along the curves of the little wooden mans arms, then
his legs, then his eyes....until finally his form was clear to see.

The man in her minds eye was slowly rising as his body cracked and groaned with every movement. He walked over to her and offered her his hand to
bring her eyes up to his. She rose and when her gaze was in his, he placed in her empty hand the little wooden figurine.

The two then stood silent, pressed to each others forehead....eyes closed and hearts pounding. They embraced and held each other in that moment as if
time did not exist.

The dark haired woman, still dreaming, tossed her body in her little bed and tightly clutched her belly.
Her mind was then racing to the day after the figurine was born of her husbands skillful hands. She was standing at the door of their home, watching
as his form slowly disappeared into the horizon. He turned just when he was about to fade into the distance and lifted his arms up to the sky. Then
like thunder his powerful voice rang out through out the valley " I vow, by the Gods that I shall return....worry not woman death will not keep me
from you"

The woman raised her hand and waved as her love turned and continued his long journey. He was going to find meat before winter set in. He was going to
be back before the season left......he did not.

The womans body then turned and flailed in her bed. Her mind was chaotic, her dreams no longer curious but distressing....her imagination was taking
over her and she began to see a thousand fates a thousand destinies....her husband then died a thousand times before her sleeping eyes, suffering each
time a more terrible death than the last.

The woman awoke screaming, her tears flowing as fiercely as the wind was howling outside. She turned her gaze to the little figurine. Filled with all
her rage, hate and sadness she took the small wooden man and threw it , crashing it against her grinding stone. The wooden figurine was not broken,
but her will to pick it up and place it close to her heart again was.

Waling in her solitary anguish, rocking her swollen body and cradling her belly, the woman wept uncontrollably for what seemed like an eternity. Then
her pain began to take physical form...her child was in a furry of movement....her body was preparing for child birth.

The pains began throbbing as fear set into the woman. She realized that the time had come and as she placed herself upright in her little fur bed her
waters burst from her.

She screamed immediately after and braced herself for the horror she was about to face alone.

Her courage returned to her and she sat listening to her body. The pain was increasing and she was becoming in tune with every sensation. She thought
to her husband in her dream, the child she saw grow old in a future she may never see.....

Her spirit filled her mind and she was once again in between worlds. The dark haired woman was fully awake but her mind was somewhere beyond her
little hut in the dark of a winters night. She suddenly felt in control and the fear washed away from her. She sat comfortably and let the pain flow
over her.

With every wave of pain passing over her like the waves of warmth from the fire she prepared for the next moment which was about to come. Her body was
humming, her mind was floating, and she was ready.

The child slowly emerged as the woman anguished alone but by her courage and resolve it did so without complications. She was amazed and finally after
what seemed like an eternity, the child was before her trembling body....then as the new born boy was taken into his mothers grateful arms, the child
cried out for the first time....the woman felt a tremendous joy wash over her....she laughed and kissed the childs head....

The dark haired woman then spoke aloud to the newly born boy..."what shall we call you?" she asked.

Then as she was about to speak his name for the first time, the door to the reed hut swung open letting in a rush of ice cold wind. The woman being
startled looked to the opening of her little home. A dark figure decked in thick fur came in.

The womans eyes adjusted as the snow blew into her face riding the ocean of winter the dark figure had released into her home and she covered herself
and her child.

Then she heard it. That voice....that voice...!

"woman, by my vow in the presence of the gods I have returned, death and many hardships loomed over my journey but none could keep me from you".

The man hastily removed the large layer of clothing around him and dropped the pack on his back that was larger than himself to the floor with a thud.

He dashed to the woman whose arms were already wide open and was received by her tender embrace around his neck. She looked down to the wide eyed babe
on her lap and then to her loves eyes...his eyes filled with tears as his lips parted laughing. He raised his baby boy up above them, and kissed him
and his wife.

"I was about to name him" the woman said.

The man responded to her, "Woman, I heard the childs first cries echoing in the valley as I was nearing our door. The joy filled me and nearly killed
me as I heard my sons voice for the first time roaring in the void between these ancient mountains. I do not know what your will is but I would call
him as we do the thunder of a storm."

The woman lowered her eyes to the child and smiled, "We shall name him with memory of where I saw him first and from where he was truly born. In
dreams in between worlds he was forged and in that space beyond time, of mind in all places both past and future he did emerge. Thunder shall be his
name, Dreaming thunder we shall call him."

"For you heard his voice as thunder welcoming you home from a long journey, and I knew him as but a dream come true, a dream that kept me and
sustained me in my endless solitude."

The dark haired woman then pointed to the figurine across from them and told the man to bring it to her. She placed it then in the hands of the babe
and the 3 of them held each other in silence.........

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.